2021 Middleton Hunt Club - Warm Weather Hunt

General Mace was game to hunt at Middleton,
and share stories too. 

Warm weather is persisting in the Lowcountry right through the middle of October, and on the afternoon of Oct. 13 sunny conditions had man and beast looking for some shade. Glad I remembered my Thermacell too! The horse drivers and dog pack at Middleton Hunt Club are professionals and they can handle the business of driving deer no matter what the weather. A small groups of members and guests set out on three small acreage drives, and though not many deer were jumped or glimpsed, we were glad to pay our dues towards the next hunt.

Huntmaster Cooper Coker in motion

On the second drive of the day, the horse drivers and dogs set out in a wide powerline and then pushed through a woodland stand of longleaf pines. I had the stand nearest to the powerline so I could hear the commotion and knew that if they jumped a deer quickly I would have to be ready. I could see the orange-clad horseback drivers make their way through the woods, and as disappeared from view, I knew my job would then be to watch for a deer coming from further away.

View from my stand on second drive

Woop. Woop. Woop. Buck. Buck. Buck!! The drivers jumped a buck and this excitement caused the dogs to begin to bark, and the woods were alive with activity. Other standers on the far end of the drive should have been seeing deer and shooting, but their guns were silent. Then the dogs became silent. The deer gave everyone the slip. Just then I saw a young buck bounding twice through the woods, crossing a road and then splashing noises indicated that he had found the safety of the swamp. Then Boom! Two stands down from me Huntmaster Cooper Coker gave a one-shot salute at a doe that came passing him 'all stretched out.' After the hunt, we met at the skinning shed to tell stories of past hunts, and General Mace shared that he likes thick woods because it generates 'close quarters' for the deer hunter and his quarry. 

To view past blog entries from Middleton Hunt Club click on 2020 - 2014 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010